Speaker and Writer—Changing the World

Freechild Activity for YOUR Classrom

I think I’ve mentioned the new series on youth activism coming out from the Capstone Press? Last month I finished consulting on a four book series for middle school students, each focused on topics like social justice, the environment, and animal rights. Well, I’m excited to note that I just found out that McGraw-Hill, a major publisher of school curricula, has devised part of a classroom lesson plan based solely off The Freechild Project website!

In five questions students are asked to read through the site and vital the answers to a variety of questions, including…

What is the Midnight Forum and what does it use hip hop to do?

Why do older adults and teens make good allies?

What are some examples of ways students can get involved in the decision-making process at their schools?

This type of exercise does a few things for Freechild: first, it legitimizes the intrinsic value teachers find in the website by enshrining it in curriculum; second, it legitimizes the value students place on the website by engaging them in using it within the formal boundaries of the classroom. While its true that there also drawbacks, I think the usage is primarily positive.